Stephanie Sage Smirnov

Stephanie Smirnov is CEO and Chief Creative Officer, North America, at DeVries Global, an award-winning consumer PR firm headquartered in NYC. The road to her current position was winding: a journey towards a Ph.D. in Art History and an academic career shifted course in 1992 when Stephanie decided to pause her graduate studies and spend the summer as an executive assistant in the office of designer Donna Karan. The summer fling turned serious when Stephanie fell hard for NYC: she never left, and academia became a distant memory. After a series of promotions at Donna Karan, Stephanie became PR Director of the company’s beauty division. In the two decades since, she’s held leadership roles both on the agency and client sides of the PR business, evolving from a beauty specialist to a consumer generalist with expertise across diverse categories: wellness, food, beverage alcohol, home care and retail.

In her current role at DeVries, Stephanie oversees operations, client relations and strategic and creative planning for North America. As she assumes roles of increasing executive responsibility, she remains firmly grounded in the actual practice of PR. This combination of big picture thinking and front-line capability makes her an invaluable resource for her clients, who currently include P&G (over 15 brands), E & J Gallo, Boston Beer Company, Tyson and Pepperidge Farm.

The need to stay hands-on in the PR trenches is particularly true in the case of social media. Knowing she couldn’t advise clients on the space without being fully immersed in it herself, Stephanie began blogging in early 2008 and is now well-known on the speaking circuit as an expert on effective brand-blogger relations. She's authored two well-trafficked personal blogs: PR Mama from 2008-2010 and Like the Vodka from 2010-2012. She has been called out in the blogging community as a "marketer who gets it," and regularly shares her thoughts on the industry and pop culture (including -- yes -- zombies) with her 5200+ Twitter followers.

Stephanie is involved with several industry organizations: she serves on the Board of Governors of Cosmetic Executive Women, the Management Committee of the Council of PR Firms of America and is an active member of the Cause Marketing Forum.